Portable metal electric-switch house



March 11, 1930. M. B. WOOD 1,750,250

PORTABLE METAL ELECTIC SWITCH HOUSE Filed Aug- 1, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet- 1 w kw m 0 March 11, 1930. M. B. WOOD 1,750,250

PORTABLE METAL ELECTIC SWITCH HOUS E Filed Aug. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 2 Patented Mar. 11, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MORRIS B. ODD, OF SOIVIERVILLE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T CONDIT ELECTRICAL MANUFACTURING CORPORATION, OF SOUTH BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR-PO- RATION OF MASSACHUSETTS PORTABLE METAL ELECTRIC-SWITCH HOUSE Application filed August 1, 1927. Serial No. 209,743.

This invention relates to portable waterproof enclosures for electrical apparatus which is installed out of doors or in other exposed locations, and has special reference to outdoor switch houses which are adapted to contain a complete switching unit including the switch and its associated control apparatus.

In building switch houses of this type, it

has been the practice heretofore to first construct an expensive rigid framework of structural steel sections to which steel plates were riveted or otherwise secured to form the enclosing walls of the switch house.

It is an object of this invention to provide a construction for a switch house in which the usual structural steel frame can be dispensed with, and specifically to provide a switch house in which the steel wall plates are shaped to take the place of the frame work and are so formed and assembled asto provide a rigid self-supporting enclosing structure for the switching unit.

A switchhouse of this type is adapted to 2 contain, besides the switch and its control panel, high tension current and potential transformers, re'closing mechanism, and various other control devices as the particular circumstances may require. The switch house and enclosed apparatus, which is a portable unit, is completely assembled at the factory with all the high and low tension wiring 1n place, so that the purchaser has only to connect his lines to the exterior terminals pro- 5 vided at the top of the house. By eliminating the steel framework of the house, it is possible to considerably reduce the weight of the assembled structure which adds greatly to its portability and at the same time facilitates the installation of the electrical equipment.

A further object, therefore, is to provide a portable outdoor switch house which is cheaper to manufacture and easier to transport than heretofore.

A yet further object of the invention is generally to improve the construction of outdoor switch houses.

The switch house embodying thisinvention can be assembled in a very much shorter time than a house having the former supporting frame construction. This obviously represents a great saving in labor charge and also facilitates deliveries.

The flanged arrangement of the walls also provides a house that is far better able to resist entrance of water than the former frame construction, for one reason because of the large reduction in the number of joints.

Fig. 1 is a rear elevation, partly in section, of a switch house embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the switch house taken on lines 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view in section of the switch house taken on lines 33 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4: is a perspective View of the top, bottom and side walls of the switch house.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a pair of doors for the switch house.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of an upper wall section of the house which is located above the doors.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged elevation of a'portion of the switch house showing a removable brace member.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a lower corner of the switch house.

Fig. 9 is a detail of the hinge for the door.

As herein shown, the switch house embodying the invention includes a bottom section or floor 10 and a top section or roof 12 spaced apart by the opposed and parallel side wall sections 14 and 15. Said switch house is adapted to be open at the front and back except for narrow front and rear wall plates 16 and 17 respectively which are provided at the upper portion of the house and are welded to the side wall sections. One of said plates is shown in detail in Fig. 6.

Said bottom section, which provides the floor for the switch house, is provided with an upstanding integral peripheral flange 20 and is preferably formed from a steel plate, suitably oversize, to permit the edges to be upturned all around at right angles to the body of the plate to provide the material for said flange. The corners of the upturned edges are welded together to make said flange 20 continuous.

Said opposed side walls 14 and 15 are formed of steel plate and. are similarly provided with inturned. vertical side edges and are arranged at right angles to the body of the plate to form the outstanding integral flanges 18 and are further formed with upwardly and rearwa-rdly slopingtop edges 21 on which the top 12 is adapted to rest to provide a sloping roof for the house. Said side walls 11 and 15 and the flanges 18 thereof are arranged to fit closely about the outer face of said flange 20 of the bottom section and are secured permanently thereto by means of welding and form a weatherproof joint thereat.

The integral flanges of the side walls cooperate with the flat portions of the walls to form a structural shape of channel section which is very rigid so that the walls are supported against buckling by reason of any load that it may be desired to place upon them. The shape of said side walls obviates the necessity of the interior frame structure heretofore necessary and thus greatly cheapens the switch house, improves its appearance and facilitates the installation of the necessary electrical equipment since there is no frame to interfere.

Sheet metal straps 22 extend across the front and back of the switch house near the top thereof between the flanges 18 of said side walls let and 15 and are welded to the edges thereof and form the top sills for the doors. Said straps are preferably formed from the same gauge metal as that comprising the side walls so as to lie in the same plane as the flanges 18 thereof. Similar straps 21 are provided between the flanges 18 at the bottom of the house overlying the upturned flange 20 of said bottom section and form the bottom sills of the doors. Said straps 24 are welded to said flange 20.

As shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and S the flanges 18 of the side wall sections 1 1 and and the upper and lower straps 22 and 24 lie in the same vertical plane and pre sent a continuous frame about the major portion of the front and back openings of the house against which doors are adapted to seat as hereinafter described.

The plate 16, shown in detail in Fig. 6, is arranged to provide aclosure for the front opening of the house above strap 22. Said plate is welded to flanges 18 of said side wall sections 11 and 15 and serves as a tie unember therebetween to maintain the side wall-sections rigidly in position at the top. Said plate 16 is extended from the top of said side-wall. members to a point below the top of said strap 22 to which it issecured by welding. A struck out portion 26 is provided at the bottom of said plate 16 which is arranged to extend longitudinally across the front opening of the house and outwardly and downwardly in position to overhang said front opening and shelter the joint between the tops of the doors and the house from the weather. A similar plate 17 is provided at the back of the house which is also welded in place. Said back plate 17 extends slightly higher than plate 16 due to the inclination of the side walls 1 1 and 15 toward the rear of the house.

Said top section 12 is formed of a plate having an integral depending peripheral flange 30 of substantial depth which is formed similarly to that of said bottom section 10 except that due to the inclination of said top the edges turned down at the front and back are bent to a position parallel with the plane of said front and back plates 16 and 17. Insulating bushings (not shown) for the incoming and outgoing high tension circuit leads are adapted to extend through openings 32 in said top section 12 into the interior of said house. Bolts are adapted to extend through flanges on said bushings and holes 34 in said top 12 to secure said bushings fixedly to the house.

Vertical angle sections 36 extend from the bottom 10 to the top 12 in the middle of both the front and back of the house and are secured by welding to the flanges and of said bottom and top section and also to the straps 22 at the front and back of the house. Said angles 36 divide the front and back openings of the house into two nearly equal areas and a set ofdoors 38 and 40 are provided at front and back to form the closures therefor.

Said doors, asshown particularly in Fig. 5, comprise flat sheet metal plates having their outeredges bent to form integral flanges 12 which are adapted to fit snugly against the outer faces of the side walls. The doors are internally hinged to the side walls whereby to shelter the hinges from the action of the weather. To this end one of the hinge-mem bers 43,'see especially F 9, is welded tothe innerface of the side wall adjacent the flange 18 thereof and the other hinge member 44, which is of general U-shape, is pivoted thereto and is welded to the inner face of the door adj acentbut spaced from the flange 41-2 thereof. The shape of the hinge-member 44 is such that it clears the wall-flange 18 in the opening and closing movement of the door and abuts thereagainst to limit the open-position of thedoor. The arrangement of the hinge is such-that, in the closing movement of the door, it moves the door in the direction of its width, wherebyto force the flange 12 thereof against the outer face of the-side-wall, thus to form an approximately weather-tight joint thereat.

Angle sections 416 extend across the tops of the doors to reinforce them and are welded thereto on the outer surface, or-said angles 4-6 may be formed in thesame manner as the 'erticalflange 42 of said doors if desired. The door .38 is further provided with an offset 18 along its free vertical edge sufficient to overlap said door 40 and allow both of said doors to rest snugly against the frame of the house. Handles 50 are secured to the left hand doors 38 and extend therethrough and are provided with suitable extensions on the inner side of the doors to engage the backs of plates 54 which are welded to the backs of angles 36. Said doors arearranged to lie beneath said overhanging flanges 26 when closed to prevent the entrance of water into the switch house from above the doors.

As above described, the construction and arrangement of the side wall-sections and the telescoping top and bottom sections provide a water tight structure which, due to the shape of the sections, is rigid and self-supporting without the use of a frame structure.

Vertically spaced horizontal angle sections 56 and 57 extend between said vertical angles 36 and are secured thereto by welding. Said horizontal angles provide the supporting means for one side of the oil switch 59 and another horizontal angle 58 welded to the side wall section 15 intermediate its height, provides the support for the switch on its other side. Said angle 58 also braces said wall section and supports it against any tendency to buckle.

The switches installed in the switch house may be of considerable size and the weight thereof and the stresses set up upon operation of the breaker may load the angles 36 eecentrically or in a direction tending to bend them Consequently, brace members 60 are provided at the front and back of the switch house between the vertical angle sections 36 and the switch house. Preferably these braces are angle sections and extend from the lower corner of the switch house to said angles 36 at an angle of about 45. Said brace members are not secured permanently to the switch house structure but preferably are bolted in place whereby they can be readily removed to facilitate removal of apparatus from the switch house. As shown in Fig. 7, a web plate 62 is welded to the flanges 20 and 18 of the bottom and side sections 10 and 14 respectively and is bored for the insertion of a brace-bolt 64. A similar bolted connection is provided through a plate 65 which is welded to the other end of the brace member 60. I

The vertical angles 36 and the horizontal angles 56 and 57 secured thereto divide the switch house into two compartments one of which is adapted to be occupied by the high tension oil switch 59 and the other by a control panel 66 which carries the switch operating apparatus and suitable instruments as meters and the like. The panel is secured to vertical angle-bars 68 and 70 of which the angle bar 68 is welded to the middle portion of the side wall 14 and this serves to brace it against a buckling force and the angle-bar 70 is attached to the switch-supporting bars 56 and 57.

The particular arrangement of the switch and panel and the switch house is shown and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 1209,7 14, filed August 1, 1927.

The switch house is ventilated by means of vent holes 28 provided in the plates 16 and 17. Said vent holes are provided with hoods 72 having side walls and downwardly sloping top walls which are welded to the plates 16 and 17 about said vent holes. Said hoods may be provided with screens at the bottom openings to prevent birds or insects from entering the switch house. A screened vent hole 74 in the bottom section 10 provides a drain for any oil which may be thrown from the breaker during operation as well as a lower vent for the switch house.

The switch house is supported on two channel sections 7 6 which lie across the house beneath the bottom section 10 and extend therebeyond a sufficient distance to allow for securing the channels to a suitable foundation. Said channels are welded securely to the bot tom section 10 and consequently are a structural part of the switch house. The angle sections 80 extend between said channels and are welded thereto and to the bottom section 10 to lend rigidity to the bottom section.

By dispensing with the steel frame work vhich has been necessary in switch houses prior to my invention, the weight and consequently the cost of construction of a switch house has been materially reduced. The arrangement of the wall sections lends itself admirably to welding which further cuts down the cost of manufacturing the structure. All welds are made on the inside of the house so that the finished product presents a very neat appearance.

The construction may be modified in many ways without departing from the scope of the invention. v

I claim:

'1. An outdoor switch house adapted to contain an electric switch, its operating mechanism, control panel and the like and composed of top, bottom and side walls of sheet metal fixedly united, one to another, and having integral inturned side edges of substantial depth which form house-bracing members characterized by providing the sole support for the walls, said house being free from any internal supporting frame, the inturned side edges of the top wall depending over the outer faces of said end walls, and the inturned edges of the bottom wall upstanding within the inner faces of said end walls and side plates extended between the top ends only of said end walls and located between the inturned side edges thereof and the opposed inturned side edges of said top wall, the sides of the house having doors which close the openings under said side plates.

2. A portable switch house having vertically spaced top and bottom walls which have respectively downturned and upturned continuous side edges, spaced vertical sheet metal end plates which constitute the end walls of the house located between the top and bottom Walls and which have their vertical ends reflexed inwardly, said plates constituting the supporting means for said top and bottom walls and being located inside the dewnturned edges of said top wall and outside the upturned edges of said bottom wall, and doors for the sides of the house overlying the reflexed ends of said end plates.

3. An outdoor electric switch house havin an enclosing housing open at the front ant back including a sheet metal bottom wall having an upstanding peripheral flange, a sheet metal top wall having a depending peripheral flange, sheet metal side walls having their vertical edges bent inwardly to provide a channel section therefor, means to secure said channel-shaped side walls at the top and bottom to the flanges of said top and bottom walls to form a self-supporting enclosing structure, doors secured to said side walls arranged to form a removable closure for said front and back openings, said doors having vertical flanges adapted to overlie the outer faces of said side walls, and means to draw said flanges into close engagement with said side walls when said doors are closed.

4. An outdoor electric switch house having an enclosing housing open at the front and back, said housing comprising sheet metal side walls having their vertical edges bent to form a channel section for said side walls, a bottom section having an upstanding peripheral flange disposed between and in engagement with said side walls and adapted to fit closely between the legs of said side wall channels, a top wall having a. depending peripheral flange adapted to fit closely about the eX- terior face of said side wall channels, and doors carried by said side walls adapted to form the closure for said front and back openings, said doors having flanges adapted to be moved into pressure engaging relation with said side walls to provide a weather tight closure thereat.

5. A frameless outdoor electric switch house consisting of two vertical and opposed side walls having relatively deep integral inwardly directed flanges at their vertical edges which are perpendicular to the plane of the walls, a top wall having a depending peripheral flange which closely overlies and encloses the tops of said side walls and the inwardly directed flanges thereof to provide a watertight cover for said switch house, said top wall flange being fixed to the tops of said side walls, whereby to stiffen them, a bottom wall having an upstanding peripheral flange received closely between said side walls at the bottom thereof and also closely between the flanges of said side walls, whereby to provide a closure at said bottom against entrance of water, said bottom wall flange being fixed to the bottoms of said side walls, whereby to stiffen them, closures for the front and back of said switch house comprising doors arranged to overlie the outer face of the upturned flange of said bottom wall and also the opposed vertical flanges of said side walls, said doors also having vertical flanges adjacent said side walls arranged to overlie and closely engage the said side wall of said switch house.

6. A frameless outdoor electric switch house consisting of a pair of vertical and opposed side walls having their vertical edges provided with relatively deep and strong flanges perpendicular to the plane of said side walls, said vertical flanges being inwardly directed towards each other, plates extended across the front and back of said switch house at the top thereof and overlying the vertical flanges of said side walls, and having an outwardly reflexed lower edge, a top wall having a depending peripheral flange adapted to closely overlie said side walls and said front and back plates whereby to provide a water tight closure for the top of said house, a bottom wall having an upstanding peripheral flange which is closely encompassed about by the side walls and the vertical flanges thereof whereby to prevent entrance of water at the bottom of said house, closures for the front and back of said house comprising doors overlapping the vertical flanges of said side walls and disposed beneath the outwardly reflexed lower edges of said front and back plates and also overlapping the outer surface of said upturned flange of said bottom wall,

said doors also having their vertical edges which lie adjacentto the sides of said house provided with relatively deep and rigid perpendicular flanges which overlie and closely engage said side walls, whereby to provide a weather tight joint thereat.

7. A frameless outdoor electric switch house consisting of a pair of vertical and opposed side walls having relatively deep and rigid inwardly directed flanges at their vertical edges, whereby to provide an inflexible wall, a horizontal metal strap secured to the outer faces of said vertical flanges intermediate the ends of said side walls, plates disposed at the front and back of said house and overlapping the outer faces of said vertical flanges and said straps and having their upper ends terminated flush with the upper ends of said side walls, and having their lower ends reflexed outwardly from said straps, a

top wall having a peripheral depending flange arranged to overlie closely the outer faces of said side walls and said plates whereby to provide a weatherproof closure for the top of said house, a bottom wall having an upstanding peripheral flange which is closely surrounded by the outer faces of said side walls and the inwardly directed vertical flanges thereof, said upstanding flange and said straps being in the same vertical plane, closures for the front and back of said house disposed in overlapping engagement with said straps beneath the outwardly reflexed lower edges of said plates and also overlapping the outer face of the upturned flange of said bottom wall, and means to provide a weather tight seal at the sides of said closures comprising flanges carried by the vertical edges thereof adjacent and arranged to closely engage the outer faces of said side walls.

8. In a portable outdoor switch house, a frameless weather-tight enclosure consisting of flat steel wall sections having their edges bent in the same parallel direction to form rigid structural shapes, the said several wallsections being associated with their bent edges closely overlying the flat surfaces of adjacent wall sections, and means to secure fixedly together the overlying bent edges of adjacent sections, whereby to provide a rigid, unitary structure.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

MORRIS B. WOOD. 

